How Resiliency Creates Better Communities

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The Six Resiliency Sectors

As previously noted, resiliency planning is a way to reduce indirect vulnerabilities by improving the long-term conditions that can leave communities exposed to hazards. As part of its Resiliency Framework, the State of Colorado has identified six core sectors around which communities can plan for resiliency. These are:

These six sectors are broad lenses through which a community can examine the impacts from shocks, identify stresses that can lead to shocks or weaken their ability to respond to shocks, and strategically plan to address these.

Though each sector addresses a specific set of goals and strategies to address shocks and stresses, integration of activities across sectors is key developing a resilient community. These sectors are interdependent, and many strategies are likely to have a cross-sector impact. For example, housing and infrastructure are closely linked. If housing and land use policies are aligned with infrastructure investments, homes and neighborhoods can be adequately served by infrastructure (e.g. utilities, broadband, transportation, etc.).

This integrated planning can also help reduce costs that each sector must bear. Another example is the interdependency between the Community, Watersheds and Natural Resources, Infrastructure, and Housing sectors. The four sectors can work together to locate housing outside of floodplains by aligning land use, floodplain, and housing policies to encourage development outside of floodplains tied to future infrastructure development and housing needs.

A resilient community is one in which community members are involved and have the information necessary and tools available to make resilient decisions. There is an underlying culture of resiliency that drives local decision making. Changing hazards and risks are understood by decision makers and incorporated into local plans. Tools such as land use planning, smart growth, effective floodplain management, comprehensive emergency management, hazard mitigation, and governance work in concert with each other and reinforce mutual goals. Resilient communities share lessons learned and know how to access resources to supplement local capacity when necessary.

Colorado communities are diverse and include mountain and plan, urban and rural, and incorporated and unincorporated communities. As a home-rule state, the strength of Colorado resides in the right to local self-governance. Colorado’s approach helps to define communities’ self-reliant attitudes. It provides communities more opportunities to foster collaboration among diverse stakeholders and find unique and customized solutions. A top-down approach is not appropriate in most instances and ongoing multi-disciplinary conversations are locally driven. For example, current stream recovery processes included the creation of a multi-disciplinary, multi-sector engagement strategy. Private landowners, non-profits, businesses, technical experts, and local, state, and federal governments have all participated in the process.

To read more about what goes into building a resilient community, see Chapter 4.1 of the State Resiliency Framework.

Economic resiliency is the ability of a system or market to maintain function and absorb and rebound from immediate stress or shock. A diversified base of industries, with free-flowing and accessible capital, is one key feature of a resilient economy. A healthy, mobile, and trained workforce also enables an economy to re-engage after an initial disruption. Business continuity plans, back-up electronic files, and telecommunications redundancies reduce the time needed to get back to business. The long-term benefits of building a resilient economy include reducing the booms and busts of single-industry economics and full absorption and employment of the varying skills offered through the existing workforce.

Colorado’s current economic success is being drive by its Colorado Advantage--that it is one of the nation’s best places to live, explore, work, and conduct business. The State also has important natural resources and one of the most highly-educated workforces in the world. People are moving to Colorado not for jobs but because they want to live here and are creating jobs as a result.

To read more about how Colorado is creating a resilient economy, see Chapter 4.2 of the State Resiliency Framework.

A resilient health and social service system is one in which the health and well-being of a community is a shared responsibility among all levels of society. Mental and physical health, preventive care, access to care, environmental health, and managing the impact of the built environment play equally important roles. Federal, state, non-profit, and private organizations work together in a coordinated fashion to care for all members of a society. Extremes in social inequity are addressed, and health and social service programs are tailored to specific population needs, including those of vulnerable populations. Overall healthier lifestyles; better physical and mental health; preventative care; improved recovery from illness; fewer limitations in daily living; better relationships with adults and with children; more social cohesion and engagement and improved quality of life are all dimensions of a resilient health and social system.

Colorado is one of the healthiest and fastest-growing states in the U.S. with people relocating to Colorado for its lifestyle, career, and world-class recreational opportunities. The State has actively engaged its citizens and local community partners in protecting environmental quality and improving public health. In 2008, Colorado established the Public Health Act, which calls upon the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to produce a comprehensive, statewide public health improvement plan every five years. The State established its Winnable Battles program in 2011, which sets the priorities for improving public health and the environment. Clean air, obesity, disease prevention, mental health, and substance abuse are a few of the winnable battles with which Colorado has engaged. More recently in May 2013, the State released the Governor’s report entitled “The State of Health: Colorado’s Commitment to Become the Healthiest State.” Local public health agencies have also created community health assessments and are implementing their local health improvement plans.

To read more about how Colorado is building a resilient health and social system, see Chapter 4.3 of the State Resiliency Framework.

Resilient housing includes durable construction materials and design features that limit the impacts of natural disasters while also allowing for short-term sheltering in place. In addition, housing is more resilient when located outside of high-risk areas such as flood zones and when it allows access to multiple transportation options. Housing developments or neighborhoods that include access to community support systems and on-site renewable energy sources increase resiliency by fostering residents’ self-reliance. Beyond hazard considerations, housing resiliency also encompasses issues of affordability and access to community assets. These resiliency features are not only beneficial in the event of a disaster, they also create quality homes that can be more affordable to operate, use fewer resources, and provide longer-lasting value to the home or building owner and the broader community.

Fast growth, increasing diversity, and other Colorado demographic indicators are also important factors in creating a resilient housing stock. Housing that is adaptable to changing market conditions provides residents with the ability to age in a place surrounded by a familiar community, includes diverse building types and sizes for a mix of household needs, and is also resilient during economic and demographic shifts.

To read more about how Colorado is developing resilient housing, see Chapter 4.4 of the State Resiliency Framework.

Our State’s infrastructure mission is to design, maintain, and manage infrastructure that not only answers some of the world’s most difficult engineering challenges but creates a network of resilient infrastructure that resists - and bounces back quickly - from acute shock events, including man-made threats, accidents, extreme weather events, and climate change; that minimizes disruptions to critical infrastructure such as roads, power, clean drinking water, and waste management; and that allows critical services to remain active such as police, fire and rescue, and hospitals. This requires meeting community needs in the context of the hazards Colorado faces such as keeping infrastructure out of high-hazard areas - e.g., floodplains - and providing back-up infrastructure and systems - such as multiple roadways and clean water access into and out of canyon communities - wherever economically feasible. It requires us to act more boldly to deliver infrastructure that strengthens our State by providing multiple benefits for people and communities, environmental stewardship, and economic stability and growth.

Coloradans cherish their relationship with the natural environment, and Katherine Lee Bates pennedAmerica the Beautiful after being inspired by the view from Pikes Peak. There are nearly 20 rivers whose headwaters begin in Colorado, with the Continental Divide directing each river’s course, and the North American Cordillera (the mountain chain runs through Colorado) has 52 dramatic peaks over 14,000 feet, or “Fourteeners” as they are affectionately known, in Colorado. Balancing stewardship with growth in complex, unique, and diverse engineering environments has always defined Colorado’s infrastructure.

To read more about how Colorado is advancing infrastructure resiliency, see Chapter 4.5 of the State Resiliency Framework.

Resilient watersheds and the natural resources within them are able to withstand disturbances over time by retaining their structure, functions, and support services. Resilient and properly functioning watersheds and natural habitat cost-effectively protect valuable infrastructure, economies, recreational opportunities, and human health. Communities would exist in harmony with natural systems and be resilient to the environmental hazards they pose.

Watersheds and the natural resources within them - including streams, lakes, wildlife, forests, grasslands, minerals and mineral fuels, wetlands, and soils - provide the foundation and sustenance for our communities and livelihoods. Communities can only thrive when supported by healthy watersheds that have intact natural functions. In addition to our drinking water, watersheds provide building materials, grazing and agricultural lands, and recreation opportunities, to name just a few fundamental support services. Healthy floodplains and riparian areas improve water quality, provide flood protection, and recharge aquifers. Coloradans are connected emotionally as well as functionally to the state’s natural resources; the natural setting provides a sense of place, beauty, pride, and rejuvenation.

To read more about how Colorado is bolstering watersheds and natural resources’ resiliency, see Chapter 4.6 of the State Resiliency Framework.

Why Should Communities Care About Resiliency?

As previously explored, past and potential future natural disasters, significant population growth, changing climate conditions, and the desire to preserve Colorado’s high quality of life present communities throughout Colorado with challenges that will require them adapt to remain healthy, vibrant, and strong. Colorado faces a wide-variety of threats in the forms of shocks and stresses; these shocks can abruptly and unexpectedly impact a community, and may be exacerbated by underlying stress conditions, such as a dam failure leading to flooding in a town’s commercial sector that permanently closes businesses, leading to job loss and decreased local economic activity.

A resilient community is not only prepared for natural and economic shocks, but examines its social, economic, and natural conditions and takes action to minimize vulnerabilities in these areas. Resilient communities, as a result, are safer, healthier, and able to adapt to ever-changing conditions.

Each community in Colorado will need to define what resiliency means to them, based on their own existing conditions, vulnerabilities, needs, and goals and aspirations. What is valuable to protect and critical to address for one community may not align with those for another. However, resilient communities all have the common goal of being able to adapt and thrive as a community.

How each community gets there will vary, but as BoCo Strong points out, identifying and community stressors, utilizing community assets and resources to address stressors, and applying lessons learned from past disaster to prepare for and adapt to future conditions will better prepare the community to bounce back after a shock event and ultimately thrive.

Addressing resiliency now will also help communities align with the direction the federal government is moving regarding disaster assistance. Federal policy is shifting towards the need for more state and local pre-disaster action, so by taking action today before a shock event occurs, communities will be better off to receive federal funding and assistance when an event occurs.

What Does a Resilient Colorado Look Like in Five Years?

Resiliency is incorporated into local plans and resiliency officers are staff positions within local government;

Long-term local and state budgets incorporate resiliency investments;

The Colorado Resiliency Partnership Fund is established and financing resiliency projects;

Neighborhoods and networks utilize resiliency practices;

Regional economic blueprints include a hazard and vulnerability assessment;

Risk and vulnerability mapping, community inclusion mapping, and model land use codes are adopted and utilized by communities;

Transportation and watersheds plan and design together, and repair jointly;

Design and implementation of natural and built systems is integrated;

Impacted residents and business are able to continue to live and operate in their communities after a disaster event;

Colorado is a national model for statewide resiliency.

Increasing resiliency is not going to happen overnight. It is a long-term process that requires coordinated strategic efforts between local, state, and federal government; non-profit organizations; the private sector; community groups; and individuals. Though resiliency is a long-term commitment, there are a number of activities that communities can undertake now that will begin to immediately address shocks and stresses, and set Colorado on the path towards a resilient future.

While each community will need to decide what policies and programs best address their vulnerabilities, through the Colorado Resiliency Framework the State has identified several indicators to measure what success will look like in five years (see table to the right).

The State cannot achieve these goals alone; coordinated efforts between State agencies, local governments, community partners, and the private sector will be key to ensuring that communities throughout Colorado are more resilient in the face of varying shocks and underlying stresses.